January 30, 2013 at 5:54 p.m.
Teeing off
Walikraam, Plisko take home a major
Plisko found the going in the final somewhat easier than expected, winning by a score of 11 and 10 in a scheduled 36-hole match. Both men's finalists were from the U.S., with Plisko winning the men's title on his maiden visit to Bermuda.
It is encouraging that the tournament had at least some overseas visitors competing. Much work needs to be done by the BGA to return this tournament to what it once was for, in times gone by, there were numerous overseas visitors playing in this tournament.
Increasing the number of quality overseas players has two primary benefits. Marketed properly, a tournament such as the Bermuda Amateur can attract tourists to our shores who will, because of their golfing skills, provide a high level of competition for our local golfers. It's a win/win proposition - tourists for our economy and some high quality competition for our local golfers. It's one of those "DAH" moments, actually, so we really need to figure out how to improve our visitor numbers to all of our major golf tournaments.
Walikraam, the ladies' champion, is an unassuming young lady who plays golf with a very focused mindset - one shot at a time. Her opponent in the final match, Helen Stovell, is a few years her senior, well, actually, maybe more than just a few. Stovell is a very fine player and Walikraam no doubt played well in winning by the close score of 2 and 1 over 36 holes.
The age gap
Interestingly, the age gap would no doubt have had an impact on the match, if only at the subconscious level. Much of competitive golf is played between the ears and players will endure several conversations with themselves as they try and stave off the demons that continually hammer away at their psyche. Stovell would have been motivated to beat the "young gun" while Walikraam would have been equally motivated to ensure that she did her bit for the younger generations' natural desire to be at the front of the classroom. Well done to them both.
Robert Vallis took men's medalist honours on qualifying day, shooting 74 on a day when most people would have preferred to have stayed indoors. The next best men's qualifying score was 80, which just shows how good Vallis' 74 was on the day. Vallis lost in the semi-finals to the eventual champion with that match not being decided until the 18th hole. I dare say Vallis would have given Plisko a better run for his championship money had they met in the 36-hole final. However, that was not to be.
Three Ladies shot 79 on Qualifying Day, two of whom were the eventual Finalists, Walikraam and Stovell, with the third being LeeAnn Lewis. An exciting playoff took place to determine the Medalist honours with the eventual winner being Ms. Stovell.
Regrettably, due to low numbers of women competing, all three received byes in the first round of match play, which is always somewhat disappointing to a competitor. Increasing the number of Ladies competing in this tournament must also become a work-in-progress for the BGA.
The next "Major" will be the Bermuda Amateur Stroke Play Championship, the timing and venue of which is a bit up in the air due to the status of Port Royal.[[In-content Ad]]
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